My £1 Guitar

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[@SurferJoe1]

That guitar loves you and missed you terribly and this is the happiest day of its life. (Sob!)

[@EarthAltar]

It's always good to have a "beater" guitar. Good for the beach, the woods, camping, hiking, etc. Places you would never take your high end guitars to.

[@philltadman]

Brilliant! What a treat for that guitar to be played so well by you. BTW it’s called a zero fret and is meant to reduce the pressure on the nut and help with intonation. Supposedly invented by Hauser

[@evanwilliams8908]

The zero fret helps prevent buzz in the first few frets by automatically setting the action higher. It’s good for cheap guitars that don’t have great fretwork or guitars that often change string gauge.

[@einsam_aber_frei]

A high action would make it super hard for the fret hand.

[@_Yep_Yep_]

That zero fret really makes sense on a classical guitar. Played pretty rad right up to that dead spot. What a hoot.

[@losendos8963]

I think it's so cool.that you found that....and took it back in! Reminds me of a closing line from the John Mayer song, '83, that says, "whatever happened to my lunch box? When came the day that it got thrown away, and dont you think I should have had some say in that decision"? If that old guitar has a soul you probably just made it very proud...it had a reason for being and look what youve become now!! Thanks for sharing.

[@briancampbell3310]

Very much like John Denver’s ‘This Old Guitar’ he found his old guitar in his grandmother’s attic and restrung it and got that song from it, amazing.

[@bonespiel]

I can't speak for others but I enjoy this random video as you call it. Thanks so very much for sharing!

[@kiekiek]

She sounds better on a 1 pound guitar than most on a 5000 one...

[@Nonesovile96]

This is America. We don’t know what a pounds is. Is that like 1 million dollars?

[@alexsantibanez6681]

@@Nonesovile96 google it

[@ChrisM541]

​@@Nonesovile96 I'll make a deal. You give me 1 million dollars and I give you....2 pounds! Come on....I'll not make that offer again.

[@HarryNicNicholas]

i have a 5k guitar - and you're right.

[@billlandon2160]

“Tone is all in the hands”

[@Floatingonacloudsomewhere]

Yeah make more videos like this please. It was fun

[@vihuelamig]

It's called a 'zero fret' and effectively acts or determines the nut action. The nut itself just becomes a string guide. It's not the worst guitar I've ever heard. A half decent set up and it will make for a pseudo romantic guitar or a perhaps a Terz.

[@nickandmikec]

Gibson Guitars placed a fret just before the nut and the headstock of the guitar she bought conforms to one made by Gibson.

[@HarryNicNicholas]

@@nickandmikec SOME gibsons, i have three and none of them have zero frets. in fact i've had about 60 guitars all in all since 2013 and none of the gibsons have had zero frets - i have some examples on my channel if you scroll back. if you're going to restring a guitar, put new strings on, why anyone would take old strings off one guitar and put them on another, well, it's a waste of time really, a professional musician will change strings EVERY gig, and if you can afford it you change them as often as possible. folks like knopfler and walters have a guy changes the strings on all their guitars before every performance. this channel is new to me and i'm only a few seconds in, so maybe she has some reason for doing things this way, but so far - weird. well, a bit further in and i think you're supposed to start with the high E - i'm no classical player, but, well i suppose if the video is "for fun".....

[@vihuelamig]

@@nickandmikec I think the zero fret concept goes back to the German/Austrian body of guitar making. Certainly very early 20th century but it could even date back to mid/late 19th century. Some argue the point that the open string 'sees' the exact same material as all the subsequent frets resulting in a more uniform sound. In reality I can't say the so called different sound of a bone nut keeps me awake at night. Having said that a zero fret isn't a bad idea. I specialise in nylon/classical guitars but I do have a very early Hofner archtop in my workshop (from around 1938) that has a zero fret. That ties in with the German/Austrian tradition.

[@vihuelamig]

@@HarryNicNicholas She's taken strings off a 'good' guitar, presumably that guitar will see a new set. The old strings are placed on a real cheap guitar that cost . . . . . . £1. My guess is that the old strings just aren't that old given how frequently pro players change strings. Not sure why you would start with the high E. I start with the low E and work my way across but then again I've only been stringing classical guitars for 45 years.

[@Kevin-Brent]

It's not the musical instrument. It's the musician. You made that £1 Guitar sound like high-end kit. Thanks for sharing with us all!! 👍

[@stephenbramlet3180]

This guitar sounds like sh*it and always will no matter who plays it.A lame donkey won’t stand for a horse no matter how talented the rider.It’s a wonder that such a good player as she is doesn’t care that her otherwise flawless playing is impaired by a very very poor instrument.Not many at her level would do that….

[@SorinPopovici985]

Tune to Eb

[@snowdog72]

Actually sounds very good

[@pedrorigaudon7060]

Keep it! Please! You both seem to fit together so well! And the sound, so bright with you as the musician!

[@philipcooper8297]

From my own experience, an affordable guitar with proper setup is much nicer to play than an expensive guitar that is in a need of a setup.

[@rko2016]

If its expensive and still needs a setup, you got ripped off. Half the reason for the price is wood and the other is attention to detail with the setup. Yet ive seen basswood guitars sell for over 500

[@gesfrance1617]

Watching you play would never get boring for me. You are gorgeous and a supreme guitarist. Incredible music maker.

[@Skinny_Karlos]

To see an arch in the right hand wrist, knuckles parallel to the strings, thumb extended out from the hand towards the rosette - these are things that I just don't see often amongst the younger players and were a delight to see in your right hand technique. Your playing is wonderful and your reputation deserved. Oh, were all the younger generation of a similar mind we'd hear sound reminiscent of Williams, Bream, Diaz et al. Congratulations on your channel as well as your playing. Oh and your left hand is to be emulated as well. - Mark, Australia

[@wadedixon6595]

Thankyou so much for sharing!

[@markusb.8163]

Thank you for sharing, it's always nice to see that expensive equipment doesn't make the musician/artist/skateboarder/etc.; people tend to be so much about gear that they forget to practise (Yes, I have done that too in the past :D)

[@jacobbumgarner684]

You're such a delight, thank you for sharing your incredible gifts and talents with us.

[@Af1st1]

Take it on tour and say it is the guitar that started your career! It is part of your history!I wish I still kept my first guitar way back in the late 1970s!I have regretted selling guitars over the years!

[@christopherstanford5599]

😂😅 You are a USC alumnus? I use ebony tie ends, no slip guarantee, but they cost more than your beautiful guitar🌹Your performance shows how much the skill of the guitarist is so important🎵🎶

[@xoxb2]

I still have my first electric guitar (the jumble sale acoustic that preceded it is lost). A plywood and plastic Les Paul copy with the bridge pickup held in by masking tape. I still get it out every so often to give it the experience of being played competently. It suffered such indignities when I was 14, it deserves a proper go now. And I'm glad I'm not the only one who's frightened of tightening the E string. (Maybe just tune everything down to play in Eb?)

[@LukeA1223]

Always lovely listening and watching you play, but this is the most fun!

[@digitalmediafan]

You are incredible. I passed Grade 3 city and guilds guitar at school, I was even privately taught but didn't persue it...

[@TheBadVideoMaker]

My guitar has that extra fret. I still can't play it even 1% as well as you do though! It clearly doesn't matter how poor the guitar is when you have the skill to make it sound out of this world.

[@George-xx4br]

that £1 was a perfect hit

[@2011Noud]

I like these stories on how an instrument brings you so far in the end. I happened to buy an Oscar Teller 8P in an auction for about 50 GBP. It happens to be the same guitar as Mason Williams used for his mega hit "Classical Gas". Though his guitar was branded "Cordova" it certainly came from the Teller Lutherie. Sometimes even cheap guitars can be surprising: In the right hands!

[@cheolhoson2282]

이런 자연스러운 영상 너무 좋습니다. 중간중간 들려주시는 곡도 너무 좋아요. Vlog 같은 영상들도 많이 올려주세요. 당신의 팬이 되었네요. 감사합니다.

[@glenndavid8725]

A living guitar Legend 😎🎸❤

[@63sgjunior]

Priceless. I saw Gordon Giltrap play a guitar he found in a skip held together by gaffer tape. Like you he made it sound incredible. All you need is the right touch and the will to do it. Regular followers will know your ability to rise to a challenge. When you've tamed the tuning let us know what you come up with.

[@SorinPopovici985]

Play barrios catedral

[@hermannortiz2707]

Linda, saludos y abrazos desde Colombia.

[@malcomsue]

I still have my first $25 guitar. It has broken and I have repaired it many times, currently needs a new saddle and tuners but I would never part with it. The old plywood guitars made in China just seem to develop a tone and sustain over many years that you fall in love with. Mine is now 46 years old and I still play it every week. A repair shop could fix the bridge on yours by plugging the holes and re-drilling them. That first fret is a zero fret which is supposed to provide better intonation when fretting notes on the first fret.

[@bikerXtrash]

I have a guitar like that hung on my wall. It was a gift from my mother-in-law. It's a 60yo Aria. It has a Cedar top and Birch (like yours I believe) back and sides. The action at the 12th fret is 3/8" so it's unplayable. But the tone is surprisingly good.

[@pitrialvarado5080]

alexandra . se escucha muy bien tu primera guitarra. tienes excelente tecnica. saludos desde Mexico.

[@andrewgrant9782]

Looks like an Argos 3/4 from around 15 years ago, aimed at children or people with smaller hands. I started on one of those and it's still fun to play. The action on them is low and the short scale results in lower tension, so the playability is pretty good. (Original price was around £30). It showed me the benefits of a shorter scale for small hands and my current guitar is a 7/8 size: the 50.5 mm nut width and 635 mm length makes such a difference. (Of course my old guitar just didn't sound as good as yours!)

[@PTguitars]

It sounds much better than expected - and your chops are really impressive. Cheers Alexandra

[@HuynhDuan303]

That's a great story, so emotional !❤❤❤

[@MrJeffb51]

I appreciate you Alexandra so much. Believe it or not, this is one of my favorite videos of you. So honest and real. And I've been listening to your classical guitar playing for years.I'm a beginner and would love for you to teach me how to play well.

[@petertaylor233]

I love that you play Asturias the old way with the triplet on the high B rather than the double open B string after the rasqeuado, and on a 1 dollar guitar like a busking Spaniard would. Keeps it real. I swear I enjoy my old hand-me-down yammy more than my 4K Gilet sometimes, its just so easy to play. Keep up the fun posts!

[@derekedgley5074]

Beautiful playing, which truly bought that guitar back to life.

[@mogarcia1861]

Love it. It was a fun video to watch, specially because I got to see the real person behind one of my favorite Master Guitar player.

[@Googlecat100]

Enjoyed the video. Take care 💯🎸💯

[@woutmoerman711]

It has a flamenco roughness and liveliness to it. Thanks for the vid!

[@stringqi]

Super fun video!!

[@ianhoyle8459]

Nice work!

[@PlanetReynoc]

That was fun!

[@ruthmoreton6975]

Mine came from charity sale too - it was made by Cayuela in Seville, Spain. It's numbered 24 and was made in 1997. I got it for £250

[@jonprudhomme7694]

Could sympathize with the fear of tuning a high string. One popped at me once, and now I wince whenever I change strings.

[@tcodi9]

por um Pound... até se fosse um berimbau... eu também ficaria feliz ... problema é que estes violões mais trastejam do que soam a nota limpa o braço da escala e curtinho ótimo para dedo pequenos e é impressionante como as divisões da escala sempre subtona de uma oitava para outra ... digo por 1 Pound é um ótimo instrumento de treino para iniciantes e amadores da música ... já daí dizer: que é o melhor violão que já tocou vai um infinito de lutie ... pois não adianta colocar cordas novas em um instrumento medianamente ruim ... ele até que simpático esteticamente... um ótimo primeiro violão ... de presente ... para tocar rock rural dos anos 80... digo rock de revistinha de cifras!!! for a Pound... even if it were a berimbau... I would be happy too... the problem is that these guitars fret more than they sound, the note is clean, the fretboard is short, great for small fingers and it's impressive how the divisions the scale always subtones from one octave to another... I say for 1 Pound it is a great training instrument for beginners and music amateurs... so let me say: it is the best guitar you have ever played, there is an infinity of lutie... Because there's no point putting new strings on a moderately bad instrument... it's kind of aesthetically pleasing... a great first guitar... as a gift... to play rural rock from the 80s... I mean comic book rock. figures!!!

[@darkwyngraym]

Guitars were relatively small until the big band era. They made it bigger with steels strings to produce a sound loud enough to compete with other instruments. Then of course they electrified it soon after.

[@CeresKLee]

Amazing!

[@guitarstringman7403]

Whoa! I just came across your channel. You have such a natural talent for intonation and performance. I'll check out your other videos!

[@micheal4897]

Boy! Are you in for a treat !!! 😍

[@user-ly4jd2jz8d]

Alexandra, what name of other tunes you played in this video at 3:48 and 4:42? ;)

[@nicolaslher]

Introduction & Variations on a Theme by Mozart, Op. 9 kzbin.info/www/bejne/b5O4iGp4rc5qfMUsi=lVWV9xEkcXtNBXUa

[@user-zd5yg1zj1v]

Incredibly beautiful music and very interesting video. Thank you Alexandera 👍👏🌹🌹🌹💕.

[@danielarturomassara]

I loved it!

[@douglaskooienga]

First guitars are such a treasure. Timepieces near & dear to our hearts. Mine (an off brand folk guitar) is looong gone. 😞My first ever classical (an Alvarez R30) is still in the closet waiting to be refurbished.The strings on YOUR 1 pound guitar,in this video, still need to stretch and settle in. You could've tied that "problem string" in a double knot (instead of burning it). I had the same problem on my Aiersi Smallman replica and that solved it.

[@JackAkaJCK]

The extra Fret is called a "Zero Fret". Can be found on quite some other guitars, like my east German Musima or many japanese guitars.

[@SlackBallSack]

sounds surprisingly good!

[@emanuelburlacu2]

My first guitar was similar to yours, I paid about $50. It was very difficult to play because of the high action, but after I took it to the luthier, the playability improved. It sounds good on the first 5 frets, but as you go to the higher frets, the sound decays.

[@veeeforvendetta]

Next time tie a knot or 2 on the end if the string. Make sure the knot is under the sting as you tape it thought the sting mount. So the the sting is a stop for the knot.

[@bryanwhitehouse4141]

My dad bought me my first guitar for four quid back in 1976 and I don't think that anyone could get a tune out of it but my fingers became very strong through trying. It became firewood. 😮

[@orryfishburne5326]

The 0th fret is more common on cheaper instruments. Not many builders use it anymore, but occasionally u will see it. The concept is that instead of the nut being the 0th fret, u have an actual fret for that purpose and that fret is placed where the nut would normally be. the nut acts only as a string spacer.

[@kazuki-fer9044]

The sound is on the fingers! 🎼🎶

[@timkelly5602]

Enjoyed your playing, you could have gone on longer... guitar sounds fine... i have a £2 boot sale guitar that did have the maker... Vicente Tatay Tomas, luthier but from his sons factory... it had a side split which i glued and it has been fine since, i tune it to bottom C and it just sounds so mellow... thanks for the intro to your first guitar, gotta love a bargain...

[@wanagaleri99]

Bagus , terimakasih . Salam kenal dari Indonesia. Saya selalu menonton canel ini . Aku tonton berulang ulang untuk belajar bermain gitar.

[@hellopsp180]

The "extra fret" is something they 100% need as these guitars were made so cheaply that tolerance was not a thing. To make the open string sound in tune they needed to put a fret there. i.e. they were too lazy to properly cut measure and set the head nut to the right height and distance.

[@visualist6x6]

You have the amazing ability to make a £1 guitar sound amazing! What would your younger self think of how you played on this guitar? That Zero fret can keep the guitar string at a set level since it's level with the rest of the frets. There are a lot of electric guitars that used a zero fret. One of the best was the Mosrite that was played by the Ventures. I installed a zero fret on one of my guitars and the intonation noticeably improved.

[@beatrixguitar]

The tuning and holding it far bc of being scared to death it snaps in your face is the most relatable thing lol

[@Metalhead_i..i]

I just discovered that watching Alexandra changing guitar strings is my new relaxing video to watch. Like asmr to others

[@jun6352]

スラーの音がとても綺麗ですね！

[@TheFlamingChips]

Reminds me of the guitar I learned on. It was so terrible, the strings would be out of tune by the 6th fret. After a couple of years, it felt amazing to actually start playing on a real guitar. I feel like the bad guitar made me a better player because I had to work hard to make it even sound half decent.

[@pteronadon]

Somewhere in the video that old guitar of yours (and the tune) sounded a lot like a Portuguese guitar playing fado. Maybe you have, but if you haven't yet, I'd fancy to watch you play one of those 12 stringers.

[@fusion-music]

This shows why everyone should put good strings on a guitar regardless of the cost of the guitar. It improves the sound, even if the construction is not great. I'm lucky enough to have my first guitar, (66 years old) which is a beautiful Hofner President jazz guitar with beautiful tone and resonance, with a slim neck that I find a challenge, unless I just solo on it. It's quite a challenge to swap from Flamenco/classical dimensions to electric or steel strung acoustic. I definitely think your first guitar could be inspirational to young players and parents who who don't have the budget for a "good" guitar for students. I think your guitar has intonation problems and what could we expect at that price - but I think if there is no other way, then young ones should get the joy of producing sound/music themselves. Hope you may return to the Crail Festival, Fife, in the future. This was a great little video.

[@kimhicks8443]

I've got a Framus I bought in 1975'ish.[from a shop in Crayford in Kent uk,] It was the best in the shop when I bought it. Could never think of selling it. I would like to get it overhauled if that's possible.

[@Capfka]

Actually, that guitar has got quite a good tone, Alexandra. I got my first classical guitar when I was eight and although I was given and bought better guitars later on, by the time I was in my twenties I still only had two guitars - my latest and still current concert guitar and my old original. Unfortunately I left the old original on my bed one day and my German Shepherd jumped up on my bed and broke the neck. *sniff* I still miss it! You are a very talented and accomplished guitarist and I enjoy your KZbin videos very much.

[@robertsen7268]

I love this video. Your reactions when you tried to tune it. And your Mom from the other room: "Well if you get a tune of it later, it will be a miracle" - haha, that's so nice. 😅 I've got a cheap guitar, too. It's a bit weird. If you play the e string in the 11th fret you get an e instead of an e flat (I mean eb, a halftone below e). I don't know why, it must be a wonder thing. 😂

[@TuxedoMaskMusic]

Nylon guitars are SO NICE for classical music and the like, I hope you have a ton of fun with it! MODEL PERHAPS? Lucida lg-400 Classical Guitar (by the look of it) and your description of its action would match that model. Hot Tip: Always use nylon strings for a nylon guitar (never use the steel strings on it) as the neck will bend! :o

[@esinsonat675]

**** the sound of the guitar (3/4 size) I think is very, very beautiful.. 👌 you play very well too,I like this situation very much.. 👍 .. .

[@ProductivePM]

As an Alumni of USC, I LOVE the sweatshirt . . . You can make anything sound fantastic! . . . Wishing you all the best!

[@Nelson_.A]

Bring it to your tours for doing warm-ups.

[@mamamia5668]

Clicked randomly. Didn't expect you to be professional Tier lmao. Sounds amazing, whats the name of the piece at 4:30 btw?

[@tangobayus]

I think a lot of people wish they had their first guitar just so they know where they came from. I bought my first classical more than 50 years ago by mail order. Of course, it's long gone, along with others I wish I had kept, like a classical made in 1935.

[@douglasalan5783]

I love this! Alexandra has reminded me what a pain in the arse it is to change strings

[@Joy_of_Music_Kate]

I have a 70 $ guitar) another one a little better, but still very time I pass by music shops and I always psychotic about various things, such as height of strings, height of the guitar neck, etc., yesterday I saw video on youtube about master made guitars - taller of Mexico Paracho, you may found it usufull, maybe

[@csatimaci]

Out of all of your masterful recordings, this is what the algorithm found to be suitable for me. And it was, it made me tear up over the care you gave your first guitar.

[@jesuizanmich]

One thing I noticed during lockdown was how lucky we are that very cheap guitars sound all right. I left my guitar in another country before lockdown and was unable to retrieve it for 2 years. In that time, I bought a guitar on Amazon for 20 quid, and it was all right; I just had to swap out the thin nylon strings for a good set (which cost me more than the guitar itself). Guitar is definitely more accessible than many other instruments. Violins and any brass instruments are in the hundreds for beginners.

[@jfrancoleon]

Talento y belleza

[@SorinPopovici985]

Play Granada

[@janikakko5781]

I'm scared every time I string my electric guitar. They don't snap very often -but they did when I was young and had cheap guitar with sharp saddles. These days I do use glasses for these things so I feel little bit more secure -until last week high E snapped right into my arms like they always do.. It's several years from last time but didn't help with the anxious at all. Btw It always suprises how good playing sounds on crap guitar when experienced player plays. Kinda same thing when battle around perfect specs like radius, scale, fret size, etc, and then they blind fold classical string instrument player to try different instruments with different specs and they end up playing each equally good.

[@robertsen7268]

When you started to play at 4:10 I was just like WHOA!! 😮😮😮

[@anthonypawelek6298]

I still have my first guitar. My grand mother got it for me from a department store. It a whole cost $12.00. That was 55 years ago. I still play it now and then

[@freude1950]

The good musician mines golden sounds from any rock ❤❤❤❤

[@Ogma3bandcamp]

Incredible player. Would love to hear you play the electric you have on the wall. Is it a Gretsch?

[@RicardoMottagu1tarra]

Le saca sonido a un palo de escoba, mentiras suena bien porque tiene dedos maravillosos.

[@stevennoon5502]

That extra fret is to compensate for the intonation I’ve seen a few but not on a classical guitar

[@markwarrensprawson]

Ah, ye olde zero fret. They used to put those on just about all guitars I think. Instead of tuning the nut by filing the nut slots down to the correct depth so that the string when played open vibrates cleanly over the first fret without bending the note slightly sharp, just bang a fret in where the nut would otherwise go and use the nut above it just to keep the strings evenly spaced. I think it's bloody awesome that you still have your old, relicked, no-name £1 classical guitar abd I don't kow. Maybe it's just an old luthier's romanticism, but that old guitar really seems to have a vibe. And one thing I learnt when I was still teaching - beginners who start out on really awful guitars that haven't received any attention whatsoever from a decent technician with a passion for making cheap instruments as much of a joy for learners to use as he or she possibly can are unlikely to practise the exercises the teacher leaves them with, never mind develop that oh, so essential obsession that turns a frustrated student with sore fingertips and developing tendonitis into a burgeoning rock star without time for anything outside of practice and the opccasional meal. This video is a joy. My god, you've actually really touched me. Oh, and I just noticed now, or at least I think I did. Is that fretboard a piece of boxwood painted over with a thick black stain perchance? Wouldn't be at all surprising. Rosewood is expensive. A pound's worth of rosewood is probably about four or five square centimetres of rosewood ply. But it's wonderful. And you have such a great touch. I'm actually really surprised it doesn't buzz EVERYWHERE. I mean, you found the buzzing open D I think it was, and that would be because the first fret after the zero fret is probably a little higher at that point than it needs to be for the strong to pass cleanly over it. BUT WHO CARES? It's awesome. Have fun, little Ms. Music.

[@nicolaspiot3611]

C est incroyable que tu t intéresses à une modeste guitare avec un si grand talent 😅 tu es fantastique !❤

[@paulgerards6494]

The 0 fret quite common back in the days! ;)

[@JohnCurtinmadrid]

Thanks